PARIS, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- France reports it has successfully conducted an underwater launch of a new variant of its M-51 strategic ballistic missile.

The M-51 is currently carried by two of the French Navy's four nuclear submarines. The new variant is slated for all the service's nuclear missile submarines by the end of the decade.

The Directorate General of Armaments, the French military procurement agency, said the test was conducted Wednesday at its missile testing center at Biscarrosse, France, as part of the new variant's development program

The test was conducted without a nuclear warhead.

"Throughout its flight phase, the missile was monitored by DGA's tracking facilities, including the Monge telemetry and tracking ship," DGA said. "The impact zone was located in the North Atlantic several hundred kilometers (miles) away from the nearest coast."